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Conclusions and Federal Action Plan
Conclusions and Federal Action Plan
In this final chapter, we present our conclusions regarding ways in which HTS
power technologies may be used in the future to address the growing demands
on the U.S. power transmission grid. We also review the recommendations from
the OSTPs 1990 national action plan on superconductivity R&D that relate to
HTS and suggest recommendations for a 2002 action plan.
Conclusions
Based upon our observations concerning the impact of the evolving electricity
market on the U.S. transmission grid, the simulation results, and the engineering
analyses described in this report, we draw the following conclusions:
1. Significant transmission constraints exist in many areas of the U.S. These
constraints have resulted from increased demand, increased power transfers,
and very small increases in transmission capacity over the past several years.
2. These transmission constraints have contributed in some cases to decreased
reliability and price differentials between load areas.
3. High-temperature superconducting underground cables provide an
attractive retrofit option for urban areas that have existing underground
transmission circuits and wish to avoid the expense of new excavation to
increase capacity. This situation exists because HTS cables have almost zero
resistance, very small capacitance and inductance, and high power capacity
compared with conventional cables of the same voltage. Thus, the HTS cables
provide changes in power flows that reduce stress in heavily loaded circuits,
thereby increasing reliability or power transfer capacity and relieving
transmission constraints.
4. When operated at high utilization, HTS cables provide energy savings
benefits compared with conventional cables per unit of power delivered for a
range of HTS cable parameters consistent with existing data and engineering
estimates. However, whether or not the concomitant HTS cable operating
cost savings are greater than the increase in acquisition cost compared with
conventional cables depends upon the cost of electricity.
5. HTS cables can provide a parallel transmission path at lower voltage to
relieve high-voltage transmission constraints. The implementation of this
approach for long-distance transmission circuits will depend on the
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1The National Action Plan on Superconductivity Research and Development Annual Report for 1990,
Executive Office of the President, Office of Science and Technology Policy, February 1991, p. 12.
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Based upon the analysis described in previous chapters, a 2002 action plan for
HTS power technologies should include the following recommendations:
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2Nisenoff, M., Status of DoD and Commercial Cryogenic Refrigerators, in Cryogenics Vision
Workshop for High-Temperature Superconducting Electric Power Systems Proceedings, U.S. Department of
Energy Superconductivity Program for Electric Systems, July 1999.
3Proceedings Coated Conductor Development Roadmapping WorkshopCharting Our Course, U.S.
Department of Energy Superconductivity for Electric Systems Program, January, 2001.
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